Soren's Birth: The 'Highlights'
I wrote the following about Soren's birth to a friend from my birthing class. I was especially highlighting how, despite my greatest hopes and efforts to have a calm, hypnobirth, somehow it just didn't work out that way. I know there a lots more details that I want to capture at some point, but this will definitely give you the big picture about Soren's birth.
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Saying you've had a successful VBAC apparently is translated as 100% natural childbirth and that didn't happen for me either.
I had my OB strip my membranes on Wednesday, 2 days overdue because my mom was leaving soon (actually she just left today). I had tried natural oxytocin stimulation, sex, induction massage (2x) and walking, but nothing was really taking a pattern with the surges (contractions). I was trying my best to be relaxed and was doing pretty well, but maybe the anxiety over the time frame was getting to me. My water broke that same night just after midnight and the BACK labor started in hard within 10-15 minutes. Like severe, crazy, painful back and lower abdominal contractions/cramps every 2-3 minutes. I literally was almost losing control during the surges (shaking my hands and head) because it was so intense. The quickness would have been manageable, but the back labor was indescribable. And since I hadn't been to bed yet and was so physically tired and then mentally, I was overwhelmed with the pain. I was also stressed because every time I tried to get comfortable anywhere other than the bathroom, more fluid would come rushing out. I was so not prepared for that!
Also, we spent the evening at the hospital before that for a biophysical profile sono and a non-stress test because the NST at the doc's office showed decels (as with my daughter!). My doc let me go home, but scheduled me to come back in 24 hours. Of course didn't need that, but that just sort of put us in worse shape since we didn't really get dinner, got home at 9:30, etc, etc. (You can read about that experience here.)
When I got to the hospital, it was determined that I actually had a little meconium in my waters, so they rushed me to a room, hooked me up to the fetal monitor to check the baby. Then it was an IV because I needed fluids for the baby. Then it was an oxygen mask (on the shortest line!)...for the baby. So I was tied to a bed (which is the opposite of what any laboring woman wants!). I was able to get on my hands and knees, which was the only position that didn't make me want to exit my consciousness completely. We got there around 2:30am, I think. Within an hour or 2 I asked for an epidural or maybe it was longer...I don't exactly remember--a short term one that my massage therapist (who is a doula) told me about. My OB wasn't sure about it and the anesthesiologist hadn't really done it either, but he gave me a test dose that lasted a couple of hours. I could still move my legs a bit, but it took the back pain away and I was able to rest between surges for a while.
But I'll tell you, since I had to lie on my side (for the baby), it wore off on one hip sooner and it was not so pleasant. By 7am, my doc told me that I need to start pushing/breathing him down at 8cm because of the decels of his heart rate. I spent an hour on my hands and knees pushing. Then at 8am she checked me and I was complete, but I guess the final part of the birth canal wasn't so stretched yet, so she had to really help me. I spent ANOTHER hour pushing on my back. I was a totally inept pusher. I seriously sucked at it and I was so freaking tired. It probably would have gone faster if I could have pushed more efficiently. His poor head was a serious cone and he got a hematoma from the whole ordeal. His heart rate wasn't great at the end, going down to 50bpm a few times apparently, but I was able to push him out. And aside from the complete inability to push efficiently, I think the final pushing wasn't really all that bad once he got down. And he did turn (from a posterior position) in the 1st hour of pushing, so he was anterior to come out, thank God.
I tore and that was no fun. And oh my gosh, I can't even tell you how surprised I was at how much pain my whole bottom side has been in. I'm sure if you are able to breathe your baby down, it must be much less traumatic, but pushing is tough. And a lot of work. So many different muscles were sore. Having surgery is way hard too, but I guess I wasn't prepared for this.
I tried to use the relaxation in the beginning, but I clearly got psyched out by the back pain/labor. I tried to use the J breath (a hypnobirthing technique) when my doc told me to, but that wasn't so successful either. I cried (several times), I freaked, I moaned and groaned. I even tried climbing off the bed in that last stage that our hypnobirthing teacher talked about when you want to escape. Totally had that. Wanted to just stop and have it all over with. (Still had to push an hour after that too!)
I know that without my OB, any other doctor would have sent me to an OR to have a c-section. But she believed in me and my abilities, which is pretty amazing considering I wanted to give up a number of times. 9 hours isn't an extremely short labor, but it was mercifully short enough, especially for a first labor.
After Soren arrived, the NICU had to examine him because of the meconium. He scored a 9 on both of his APGARs, missing one point for his color. He also had to have 3 glucose tests because of the meconium and passed each one (the 1st one was by a smidge, but after breastfeeding, he improved drastically in each subsequent test). We caused controversy by opting out of both the antibiotic eye ointment and the Vitamin K shot--apparently no one has ever refused the Vitamin K before. He was also spared the Hepatitis B vaccine and his first bath by nurses. But those 3 glucose heel pricks and the PKU heel prick were more than enough to upset him a great deal!
Another interesting newborn detail is that, in addition to the meconium in the waters, he also had 2 bowel movements while the NICU nurses were checking him out. His poo actually changed over before we left the hospital because he was digesting so well, I guess. Plus, my milk came in the 2nd day, so that probably helped.
And, unlike his sister, Soren was quite calm during our stay in the hospital. He ate fairly well and slept a lot. (If only we had just slept when he did and didn't wake him at night to feed him!) As it turned out, he only lost 3oz in the hospital and had gained 13oz by the time he saw our pediatrician 4 days later.
________________________
Saying you've had a successful VBAC apparently is translated as 100% natural childbirth and that didn't happen for me either.
I had my OB strip my membranes on Wednesday, 2 days overdue because my mom was leaving soon (actually she just left today). I had tried natural oxytocin stimulation, sex, induction massage (2x) and walking, but nothing was really taking a pattern with the surges (contractions). I was trying my best to be relaxed and was doing pretty well, but maybe the anxiety over the time frame was getting to me. My water broke that same night just after midnight and the BACK labor started in hard within 10-15 minutes. Like severe, crazy, painful back and lower abdominal contractions/cramps every 2-3 minutes. I literally was almost losing control during the surges (shaking my hands and head) because it was so intense. The quickness would have been manageable, but the back labor was indescribable. And since I hadn't been to bed yet and was so physically tired and then mentally, I was overwhelmed with the pain. I was also stressed because every time I tried to get comfortable anywhere other than the bathroom, more fluid would come rushing out. I was so not prepared for that!
Also, we spent the evening at the hospital before that for a biophysical profile sono and a non-stress test because the NST at the doc's office showed decels (as with my daughter!). My doc let me go home, but scheduled me to come back in 24 hours. Of course didn't need that, but that just sort of put us in worse shape since we didn't really get dinner, got home at 9:30, etc, etc. (You can read about that experience here.)
When I got to the hospital, it was determined that I actually had a little meconium in my waters, so they rushed me to a room, hooked me up to the fetal monitor to check the baby. Then it was an IV because I needed fluids for the baby. Then it was an oxygen mask (on the shortest line!)...for the baby. So I was tied to a bed (which is the opposite of what any laboring woman wants!). I was able to get on my hands and knees, which was the only position that didn't make me want to exit my consciousness completely. We got there around 2:30am, I think. Within an hour or 2 I asked for an epidural or maybe it was longer...I don't exactly remember--a short term one that my massage therapist (who is a doula) told me about. My OB wasn't sure about it and the anesthesiologist hadn't really done it either, but he gave me a test dose that lasted a couple of hours. I could still move my legs a bit, but it took the back pain away and I was able to rest between surges for a while.
But I'll tell you, since I had to lie on my side (for the baby), it wore off on one hip sooner and it was not so pleasant. By 7am, my doc told me that I need to start pushing/breathing him down at 8cm because of the decels of his heart rate. I spent an hour on my hands and knees pushing. Then at 8am she checked me and I was complete, but I guess the final part of the birth canal wasn't so stretched yet, so she had to really help me. I spent ANOTHER hour pushing on my back. I was a totally inept pusher. I seriously sucked at it and I was so freaking tired. It probably would have gone faster if I could have pushed more efficiently. His poor head was a serious cone and he got a hematoma from the whole ordeal. His heart rate wasn't great at the end, going down to 50bpm a few times apparently, but I was able to push him out. And aside from the complete inability to push efficiently, I think the final pushing wasn't really all that bad once he got down. And he did turn (from a posterior position) in the 1st hour of pushing, so he was anterior to come out, thank God.
I tore and that was no fun. And oh my gosh, I can't even tell you how surprised I was at how much pain my whole bottom side has been in. I'm sure if you are able to breathe your baby down, it must be much less traumatic, but pushing is tough. And a lot of work. So many different muscles were sore. Having surgery is way hard too, but I guess I wasn't prepared for this.
I tried to use the relaxation in the beginning, but I clearly got psyched out by the back pain/labor. I tried to use the J breath (a hypnobirthing technique) when my doc told me to, but that wasn't so successful either. I cried (several times), I freaked, I moaned and groaned. I even tried climbing off the bed in that last stage that our hypnobirthing teacher talked about when you want to escape. Totally had that. Wanted to just stop and have it all over with. (Still had to push an hour after that too!)
I know that without my OB, any other doctor would have sent me to an OR to have a c-section. But she believed in me and my abilities, which is pretty amazing considering I wanted to give up a number of times. 9 hours isn't an extremely short labor, but it was mercifully short enough, especially for a first labor.
After Soren arrived, the NICU had to examine him because of the meconium. He scored a 9 on both of his APGARs, missing one point for his color. He also had to have 3 glucose tests because of the meconium and passed each one (the 1st one was by a smidge, but after breastfeeding, he improved drastically in each subsequent test). We caused controversy by opting out of both the antibiotic eye ointment and the Vitamin K shot--apparently no one has ever refused the Vitamin K before. He was also spared the Hepatitis B vaccine and his first bath by nurses. But those 3 glucose heel pricks and the PKU heel prick were more than enough to upset him a great deal!
Another interesting newborn detail is that, in addition to the meconium in the waters, he also had 2 bowel movements while the NICU nurses were checking him out. His poo actually changed over before we left the hospital because he was digesting so well, I guess. Plus, my milk came in the 2nd day, so that probably helped.
And, unlike his sister, Soren was quite calm during our stay in the hospital. He ate fairly well and slept a lot. (If only we had just slept when he did and didn't wake him at night to feed him!) As it turned out, he only lost 3oz in the hospital and had gained 13oz by the time he saw our pediatrician 4 days later.
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